78 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
Insects and birds must also be carriers, 
since it is otherwise impossible to explain 
infections starting in the tops of trees. 
Wind storms and rain storms may also 
explain its spread locally. I am not 
aware, however, that any of these 
agencies have spread it any great dis¬ 
tance. 
But when it comes to carrying infections 
long distances we find, in every instance, 
that they came about by means of nursery 
stock. Was the canker infection not 
brought from Japan to the United States 
on nursery stock? Was it not carried 
from state ‘to state on nurserv stock? 
Was the infection not brought to Florida 
on nursery stock? and were the fifteen or 
more infections in Florida, outside of 
Dade county, not carried on nursery 
stock? And finally, the great majority 
of the 201 infected properties in Dade 
county were infected by means of infected 
nursery stock. 
It is evident, therefore, that in order to 
forestall the introduction of these pests 
into Florida, and to limit the spread of 
those already in Florida, whether of cit¬ 
rus and other fruits, whether of garden 
vegetables and farm crops, all stock in¬ 
tended for planting or propagating must 
be carefully inspected upon its arrival in 
Florida, or if grown in Florida, before it 
is allowed to be sold. In order that this 
may be efficiently done it will require 
more than one inspector and more than 
$3,000 per annum, for which the Nursery 
Inspection Law of 1911 only provides. 
But that is not all. Florida has a very 
long coast line, with many harbors, at 
which ocean going vessels may land. Pas¬ 
sengers will land at these places from Ber¬ 
muda (where the Mediterranean fruitfly 
has ruined the fruit industry), from 
Mexico (where they have the Mexican 
fruitfly or Orange Maggot), from the 
West Indies (where they have the Pink 
Mealybug of sugar cane), from Central 
America, Brazil and other South Ameri¬ 
can countries, where, who knows what un¬ 
known pests exist! Did any one know that 
canker existed in Japan? No, but it was 
brought here just the same. The opening 
of the canal may sooner or later result in 
vessels landing passengers and cargoes 
at Florida ports coming directly from the 
Orient, where a new disease of corn has 
recently been discovered. What will these 
passengers bring with them? It is only 
natural that a traveler should wish to 
bring home some new plants, budwood, 
fruits, seeds, and what not. In Califor¬ 
nia a State Inspector accompanies the 
Customs Officers on board vessels and all 
fruits, plants, seeds, etc., that are under 
the ban are confiscated. It is reported 
that a California Inspector will take an 
orange from a crying child’s hand. Cali¬ 
fornia also has a comparatively long cost, 
but few ports, so that their problem is less 
difficult than ours. But Florida must 
solve this problem of protection itself 
against careless tourists. Would a capi¬ 
talist owning a $200,600,000 industry, 
and the citrus industry has been estimated 
at that, hesitate to spend a couple 
hundred thousand dollars to protect it? 
That would be only one-tenth of 1 per 
cent on the investment. 
But, says Mr. Trucker, that is all right 
for the grove owners. I am not a grove 
owner; let the grove owners tax them¬ 
selves, that is proper. I was no loser 
